Stress has been, and still is, a difficult thing to measure. One difficulty in measuring stress comes directly from the lack of a concise definition for stress. One definition of stress is: “Stress is the non specific response of the body to any demand.” (Hans Selye, “Stress without Distress,” published by Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1974.) Another difficulty in measuring stress is in its diagnoses. Stress is difficult to diagnose because it reveals itself by a constellation of common symptoms with varying degrees of specificity. The symptoms are a function of: the stimulus (demand or pressure), their build up, as well as the individual organism predisposition (weak links).
Examples of common “weak links” and the symptoms of their malfunction include: (1) brain overstress: fatigue, aches and pains, crying spells, depression, anxiety attacks, insomnia, brain shrinkage; (2) gastrointestinal tract: ulcer, cramps and diarrhea, colitis, IBS, thyroid gland malfunction; (3) others: itchy skin rashes, decrease resistance to infections, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, etc.
Another difficulty is the complexity of the human stress response. Stress has both psychological and physiological components; measuring only one component is insufficient to provide a complete understanding. To measure stress, “mind and body” both have to be taken into consideration, as there is no psychological event without a resulting somatic (bodily) event and vice versa. Stress response varies greatly between individuals. One person, for instance, may display large changes in electrodermal activity with increased stress and show only moderate changes in heart rate and peripheral blood flow volume, while another individual may show the reverse pattern.
Stress is rather ambiguous and ill-defined. There is no standard definition of stress and, consequently, there are no widely accepted standards for measuring stress. One reason for this is that every person's psychological and physiological response to stress is different and can change over time. The magnitude of aromatherapeutic effects is probably small, making them difficult to isolate. There is much scientific evidence that a person's physiological reaction to an odorant may depend on their psychological response to the odorant, i.e., whether or not the person likes the odor. Animal studies by Buchbauer indicate that only specific varieties of essential oils—indeed, in some cases only specific enantiomers of fragrance molecules—produce an aromatherapeutic effect. This could explain some of the contradictory findings in the scientific literature regarding aromatherapy. A generic lavender, for instance, might not contain the correct amounts, proportions, or chemical species of the various components which are needed to produce an effect.
In commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/405,378 filed on Apr. 2, 2003, there is disclosed a methodology and apparatus for testing and evaluating acute stress levels of human test subjects by acquiring both physiological and psychological information during alternating periods of stress and relaxation. The methodology and apparatus disclosed therein also entail the acquisition of physiological and psychological information while subjecting the test subjects to a stimulus, such as a fragrance, flavor, or product, or while the test subjects are performing an activity or task. Further, the application describes the evaluation of acute stress levels of human test subjects by acquiring physiological data from biosensors, such as EKG and blood volume pulse (BVP) sensors, and by acquiring psychological data from questionnaires.
A primary advantage of the invention disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/405,378 is that both psychological and physiological measurements are simultaneously taken and assessed, which provides a much more accurate measure of a person's acute stress level by taking into account both body and mind (body/mind) interactions. The methods and apparatuses disclosed in said application can be used for many purposes, but at least provides certain scientific quantifications of the psychological and physiological parameters, which have not been available in the past testing or relaxation-determinative procedures. Another important aspect of the invention disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/405,378 is that the physiological and psychological factors are taken in a non-invasive manner, which is a huge advantage as compared to taking blood, urine or saliva samples.
Despite having provided a substantial solution to contemporary issues associated with the measurement of an acute stress in a mammal via an assessment of psychological and physiological characteristics, there remains a need in the art to identify an abbreviated method for measuring acute stress in a mammalian subject. Such a method should facilitate the rapid assessment of the level of acute stress in a mammalian subject, with or without the use of computers or other computational tools.